Abstract
A low energy (∼30 V) plasma treatment of Nafion, a commercial proton exchange membrane used for low temperature fuel cells, is performed in a helicon radiofrequency (13.56 MHz) plasma system. For argon densities in the 109–1010 cm−3 range, the water contact angle (hydrophobicity) of the membrane surface linearly decreases with an increase in the plasma energy dose, which is maintained below 5.1 J cm−2, and which results from the combination of an ion energy dose (up to 3.8 J cm−2) and a photon (mostly UV) energy dose (up to 1.3 J cm−2). The decrease in water contact angle is essentially a result of the energy brought to the surface by ion bombardment. The measured effect of the energy brought to the surface by UV light is found to be negligible.
Published Version
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